Posts
Rachel’s Corner Try 28 Seasonal Recipes to Cook in February
· do a personal eucharistic stations of the cross.
· Bucket List Trip: City of Warriors
· Spirit hour: Southern Hospitality
· National Macadamia Nut Month
Best Place to visit in February-San Diego, California
Sun, sea air, and serious winter relief — San Diego ticked every box. I spent my days walking the beaches, exploring outdoors in mild temps, topping up my Vitamin D, and enjoying a quieter, more local side of the city, plus great hotel deals and February’s highlights like San Diego Museum Month, the Chinese New Year Fair, and Mardi Gras in the Gaslamp Quarter.
I drove two hours down the Pacific Coast Highway from Los Angeles and spent five gorgeous days at the chic Tower 23 Hotel — basking on the sands of La Jolla and Coronado, admiring early cherry blossoms at the Japanese Friendship Garden, and spotting gray whales in their peak migration season.
It has year-round sunshine and a mild climate, so when I want to escape from cold, gloomy weather and get a dose of much vitamin D, I head here! I found it to be much quieter and possess a much more local vibe and with awesome discounts on accommodation too.
the lively Old Town, the serene Japanese Friendship Garden, and the many art galleries, museums, and beautiful gardens dotted throughout the city.
· Relaxing with a zen-like Korean Massage at the Aqua Day Spa.
· Hiking along the trails at Torrey Pines State Park, I loved the incredible panoramic views!
Thursday Feast
Thursday is the day of the week that our Lord gave himself up for consumption. Thursday commemorates the last supper. Some theologians believe after Sunday Thursday is the holiest day of the week. We should then try to make this day special by making a visit to the blessed sacrament chapel, Mass or even stopping by the grave of a loved one. Why not plan to count the blessing of the week and thank our Lord. Plan a special meal. Be at Peace.
Dinner Menu
o February 12-22
Visit the annual Arabian Horse Show in Scottsdale,
Arizona to watch over 2,400 horses compete for a chance at winning the coveted gold title. In between the competitions, there are plenty of kids’ activities like an ice cream social, pony painting (ceramic ponies, not real ones), and art contests. And the best part, kids 17 and under are free.
· Wickenburg, Arizona
§ FEBRUARY 12-15
· Check out Yarnell-St. Joseph of the mountains.
February 12 Thursday
Lincoln-Darwin
Leviticus, Chapter 25, Verse 36
Do
not exact interest in advance or accrued interest,
but out of FEAR
of God let your kindred live with you.
Everyone
serves something. Some serve gain, some serve pleasure, some serve others, but
the wise person serves the Lord not out of servile fear but Holy fear; that is
out of love.
Can
we say with Joshua say, “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
(Jos. 24:15) If we serve the Lord our own house should be open to our own
kindred.
If
everyone did this, would we have any who are homeless?
Search
your hearts; do you have kindred who are in need?
Sustain them especially widows and orphans; by the way
the divorced are the same as widows and orphans. Real charity is looking after
widows and orphans.
Copilot’s Take
Holy fear teaches us to see people not as burdens but
as sacred trusts, and that vision exposes the quiet evil of our age: the
willingness to let the vulnerable fend for themselves while we protect our
comfort. Scripture’s command not to profit from another’s desperation is more
than an economic rule—it is a spiritual posture. It means refusing to
participate in a culture that treats human need as an inconvenience or an
opportunity. Evil today rarely announces itself with violence; it more often
appears as indifference, as the shrug that says, “Someone else will take care
of them.” But the fear of God awakens us to the truth that every person who
crosses our path is placed there by Providence, and our response reveals whom
we truly serve.
In biblical language, widows and orphans are those who
have lost their natural defenders. In our world, that circle has widened. The
single mother juggling survival, the single father carrying the weight of two
roles, the divorced spouse navigating life without support, the elderly living
alone, the immigrant with no kin, the child of a fractured home—these are the
modern equivalents. They are not merely “cases” or “situations”; they are the
ones God repeatedly commands His people to protect. When the Church forgets
them, it forgets its own identity. When a household opens its door to them, it
becomes a fortress of mercy pushing back against the darkness of isolation.
To confront evil today, we do not need grand gestures
or public battles. We need households that echo Joshua’s vow: “As for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord.” Service to the Lord always becomes service to
His vulnerable ones. A Christian home becomes a refuge where the overwhelmed
find rest, the lonely find company, and the abandoned find dignity. This is not
sentimental charity—it is spiritual warfare. It is the quiet, stubborn refusal
to let anyone God loves stand alone.
Bible in a Year Day 225 Our Will vs. God's Will
Fr. Mike reviews one of the most powerful verses in Proverbs, dealing with personal discernment and wanting to follow our own will instead of God's. He also goes into a deeper explanation of the prophet, Jeremiah, and how we ourselves can reflect the actions of Israel in the Old Testament. Today's readings are Jeremiah 2, Ezekiel 28, and Proverbs 14:9-12.
Lincoln's Birthday (1809) celebrates the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, one of the most popular presidents in United States history. It is a state holiday in some states on or around February 12. It's also known as Abraham Lincoln's Birthday, Abraham Lincoln Day or Lincoln Day.
“Character is Destiny” [2] is a book written by John McCain in it he highlights the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, of the United States as an example of a man who demonstrates for us the characteristic of RESILIENCE. Resilience is the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens.
Abraham Lincoln had known loss and grief all his life yet rather that than succumb to defeat; he somehow, always found a way to rise back up. He was inarguably a man of action. Although he was known to have chronic depression he never yielded and, in some way, resurrected from his melancholic states thinking, “To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better.” Lincoln rose to the highest office in the land after surviving a hard and poor childhood in the Indiana wilderness, a harsh father, little education, and deep loneliness. He survived the death of his brother, a sister, his mother, his first sweetheart, and his own children and his marriage to Mary Todd was troubled. As president he was considered dismal by most.
How did Lincoln persist?
He willed it. He was neither swift nor brilliant at work, but he was exhaustive; he continued. His resilience sprang from his deep conviction that America was, “the last, best hope of earth.” In the end he paid for his devotion with his life; so that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.
Darwin Day[3]
Darwin Day commemorates
the achievements and the life of the scientist Charles Darwin. Names like
Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, and Charles Darwin are among
the most historic names in science. Darwin’s most famous achievement is the development
of the Theory of Natural Selection. The celebration occurs every year on
Darwin’s birthday, February 12th.
Character is Destiny[4]
John McCain pointed out in his book entitled,
“Character is Destiny” that an understanding heart must be generous (Oseola
McCarty), forgiving (Nelson Mandela), tolerant (Four Chaplains), full of mercy
(Mother Antonia), faithful (Christian Guard at Hua Lo prison) and compassionate
(Maximilian Kolbe). John now suggests for us that adding to our understanding
heart we must strive to have a creative mind. A creative mind must be built on
a thirst or curiosity in the mysteries of creation. John points out as an example
of curiosity the renowned Charles Darwin.
McCain says of Darwin:
His curiosity and courage helped him to discover the
history of nature and start an argument that has continued for 150 years. A
curious thing about the father of the theory of evolution is that he himself
was an avowed agnostic, keeping
to his scientific methods.
The evolution of all life on earth, including man,
was and still is, in some quarters, considered an affront to the belief that
the progress of the human race over time bears the unmistakable sign of the
divine spark in our nature: but why can we not be content in our faith with the
understanding that God’s divine intelligence, which exists beyond time and
space, and has left us to choose by the exercise of our free will whether to
accept His grace or reject it, could have left nature to work its physical changes
upon us?
We have a second nature, a moral nature, that is not
determined by ecological change but by the workings of our conscience.
Is not our conscience and its effect upon our will
enough confirmation for the believer that God, the Creator, has endowed us with
the divine spark of His love to improve, if we so choose, our second nature in
service to Him?
It is enough, I believe, for anyone who can see in
our struggle to be good a divine purpose, as we may still glimpse in the
wonders of nature the divine intelligence that created it and set it all in
motion.
To believe and follow God is our choice. Not all will follow. Our principal belief is in our salvation not in this life but the next. Man, and nature, even at their cruelest, cannot deny us that, nor the gloriousness of His creation, a gloriousness that human qualities like curiosity have led us to appreciate with humility and awe. Time and the laws of nature do not expose the absence of God, whose proofs are a matter for the heart to contemplate, a matter of faith.
Evolution and the Catholic Church[5]
Early contributions to biology were made by Catholic
scientists such as Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and the
Augustinian friar Gregor Mendel. Since the publication of Charles
Darwin's On the Origin of Species in 1859,
the attitude of the Catholic
Church on the theory of evolution has slowly been refined.
For nearly a century, the papacy offered
no authoritative pronouncement on Darwin's theories. In the 1950 encyclical Humani
generis, Pope Pius
XII confirmed that there is no intrinsic conflict between Christianity and the
theory of evolution, provided that Christians believe that God created all
things and that the individual soul is a direct creation by God and not the product of purely material forces.
Today, the Church supports theistic evolution(ism), also known as evolutionary
creation, although Catholics are free not to believe in any part of
evolutionary theory.
The Catholic Church holds no official position on
the theory of creation or evolution, leaving the specifics of either theistic
evolution or literal creationism to the individual within certain parameters
established by the Church. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
any believer may accept either literal or special
creation within the period of an actual six-day, twenty-four-hour period, or they
may accept the belief that the earth evolved over time under the guidance of
God. Catholicism holds that God initiated and continued the process
of his evolutionary creation and that all humans, whether specially created or
evolved, have and have always had specially created souls for each individual.
Catholic schools in the United States and
other countries teach evolution as part of their science curriculum. They teach
the fact that evolution occurs and the modern
evolutionary synthesis, which is the scientific
theory that explains how evolution proceeds.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Holy Priests, Consecrated, & Religious
·
National Kraut and
Frankfurter Week
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
·
Rosary
fascinating hybrid: part mystery, part stage‑illusion thriller, part early‑sound-era mood piece. It’s also a terrific Edmund Lowe vehicle, and it gives you that atmospheric, slightly uncanny 1930s energy
🎭 The Spider (1931) — Mystery / Illusion Thriller
Starring: Edmund Lowe, Lois Moran, El Brendel
Studio: Fox Film Corporation
Tone: Shadowy, theatrical, psychological, pre‑noir
1. Plot Summary
A famous stage magician known as The Great Chatrand (Edmund Lowe) becomes entangled in a murder mystery when a man is killed during one of his performances. The crime appears to be connected to Chatrand’s past—specifically a buried identity and a long‑standing feud that refuses to stay dead.
As police investigate, Chatrand must navigate:
- A mysterious woman (Lois Moran) who may know more than she admits
- A rival illusionist with motives of his own
- A series of eerie, atmospheric clues tied to hypnotism, memory, and guilt
- A creeping sense that the past is staging a comeback on its own terms
The film blends stagecraft and crime, using illusions as metaphors for hidden sin, concealed identity, and the masks people wear.
2. Classic‑Film Devotional Framework
A. Themes of Identity & Confession
Chatrand’s double life echoes the spiritual tension between who we present to the world and who we truly are.
Perfect for reflections on:
- Integrity
- Repentance
- The unveiling of truth
B. Illusion vs. Reality
The film’s stage‑magic setting becomes a parable:
What we hide eventually demands to be revealed.
This aligns beautifully with your Good Friday–to–Divine Mercy arc.
C. The Pursuit of Truth
The detective elements mirror the spiritual detective work you often highlight—seeking clarity, naming sin, and restoring order.
3. Hospitality Pairing
🍷 Drink Pairing: A Deep, Dark Red
A Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah—something with shadowy depth.
Symbolism:
- The hidden layers of the soul
- The richness beneath the surface
- The unveiling of truth through slow savoring
🍫 Food Pairing: Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt
The bitterness and sweetness mirror the film’s interplay of guilt and revelation.
🕯️ Ritual Cue
Dim the lights.
Let the room feel like a 1930s theater.
A single candle or lamp evokes the spotlight on truth.
4. Moral & Spiritual Resonance
| Theme | Film Expression | Devotional Tie‑In |
|---|---|---|
| Hidden Sin | Chatrand’s concealed past | Confession, truth-telling |
| Illusion | Stage magic masking reality | The masks we wear before God |
| Justice | The investigation | Divine order restored |
| Identity | Chatrand’s dual nature | Becoming who God calls us to be |
This film is practically built for your legacy‑formation lens.
